On December 23^rd, an expert conference on the TRIBUTE international project and the revision of the Novi Sad SMART plan was held in the Ceremonial Hall of the Faculty of Technical Sciences. The participants of the meeting were representatives of the Faculty and the City of Novi Sad, with which the Public City Transport Company "Novi Sad" actively participated in the TRIBUTE project together with seven cities and municipalities from the Adriatic-Ionian region (Milan, Ljubljana, Maribor, Zagreb, Patras, Sarajevo and Podgorica).

The importance of sustainable mobility adapted to the needs of citizens was discussed by the professor of the Faculty of Technical Sciences Vuk Bogdanović, PhD, and assistant director of the Public City Transport Company "Novi Sad" Biljana Stojković, who informed the attendees about the news introduced in public transport as part of the TRIBUTE project.

"The task of this demanding project was to test the possibilities for introducing new, innovative solutions and implementing activities related to the improvement of urban mobility through eight 'living' laboratories. Through the held laboratories, we exchanged experiences with everyone who deals with traffic in our city, from the City Traffic Administration, scientific institutions, PC “ City Parking” to taxi drivers and the city's public transport company. In order to realize the project, we also had cooperation with the Electrical Distribution Company”, Biljana Stojković  said and added that the project was aimed at the City bus line number 4. LED displays were placed at the bus stops of the mentioned busline, which, using GSP devices, enabled passengers to see in real time arrival of the vehicle at the stop.

The EasyGoNS application was presented at the conference, which provides users of public bus transport on line number 4 with information about bus arrivals and departures in real time, as well as information about alternative modes of transport, i.e. the distance of taxi stands and bike stations, as well as their combination. With this application, users have the possibility to plan city transport in a way that satisfies and fully adapts to their individual needs (e.g. public bus and/or bicycle transport and/or walking).

Biljana Stojković pointed out that the TRIBUTE project is in the final stage of implementation, i.e. that a survey is currently being conducted to assess the effectiveness of the use of the application and displays at the stops of line number 4. The preliminary results of the survey are expected at the end of January, and the completion of the project is planned for June 2023.

Prof. Vuk Bogdanović,PhD, emphasized the necessity of developing strategic plans and other projects related to the field of traffic. "We live in a time that is significantly different from the previous ones," said prof. Bogdanović pointed out global traffic problems in cities, from congestion on the street network to parking and disposal of unused vehicles. That is why, as he pointed out, the European agenda on urban development and sustainable mobility, as well as strategic and action plans in this field, are extremely important. Prof.  Bogdanović recalled the results of the Novi Sad SMART Plan I and II, and stated that work is currently underway on its revision in accordance with the new data.

For more information, please visit:  https://tribute.adrioninterreg.eu.

This press release has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The content of the press release is the sole responsibility of TRIBUTE Partnership and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union and/or ADRION programme authorities.